Shots Across The Bow

Mental Exercise

OK, here's a test for all you anti-war zealots out there. Devise a way to mount a terrorist attack here in the US. Your attack should carry an economic and psychological impact, as well as killing as many people as possible. Remember that as a terrorist, you go after a soft target, one that isn't overly defended, or hard to reach. The target should be fairly prominent for best news mileage.

I'll give you an example. Take the classic "dirty bomb" scenario, but let's make it a little bit easier. The damage of a dirty bomb is not caused by the radiation, which is any case will be fairly minimal, but by the economic impact of the cleanup, and psychological distress caused by the action. A dirty bomb renders a large area unusable until an extensive and expensive cleanup is performed. Low level radioactive waste (LLRW) works just as well as the high level stuff to cause these effects, and it is much easier to acquire. Locating and hijacking a shipment of LLRW wouldn't be that difficult. Add some explosives to the container (or if you want to get fancier, repackage the material for maximum dispersal) drive to the middle of a medium size city, and blow it up.

Now, that's part 1 of the exercise. Part 2 is to devise a counter strategy. Part 3 of the exercise is to repeat part 1 and 2 for every possible scenario you can imagine. Even staying within the constraints of simplicity and economy, any reasonably intelligent person could come up with hundreds, if not thousands of potential attacks. Feel free to focus within your area of expertise. If you're a computer dude, think of internet based attacks; an engineer, look at taking out buildings, bridges, or services. If a tree can knock out power over most of the northeast, think what you could if you really try!

Part 4 is to get your buddy to do the same thing. I'm sure he can think of things you haven't.

Part 5 is to figure out how to implement your strategies without A) busting the budget, or B) totally destroying the freedoms that make America worth protecting, all while facing a "loyal opposition" that has decided verything you do is wrong.

This is called Homeland Security folks. That's the job they have, and it doesn't take a whole lot of thought to realize that it's an impossible task. There's no way to anticipate every avenue of potential attack, react to it, and eliminate the threat without reducing America to a prison state.

It simply can't be done.

The only way to prevent future terrorist attacks is to get rid of the terrorists. Now, there are two approaches to this. You can try to appease them, give them what they want, or you can fight them. Appeasement is simply slow suicide when what your enemy wants is your destruction. They want America dead. They've said it often enough, and I take them at their word.

The only way to preserve our way of life, our freedom and our liberty is to take the fight to our enemies, wherever they may be. Some cry that we shouldn't strike first, that we run the risk of agitating the terrorists. Let me clue you in; they're already agitated. 9/11 didn't come from a calm, peaceful group. Neither did the bombings of our embassies, or the Cole, or the Khobar Towers, or the nightclubs, or any of the other attacks on Americans carried out by Islamic fundies. The first blow has been struck, but it wasn't by the US.

We didn't pick this fight, despite what revisionists want to claim; it was picked for us by a sucker punch from a September sky. Our enemy wanted to hurt us, and he did. Now we have to do what it takes to make sure he can't hurt us again.

Posted by Rich at November 21, 2003 11:04 AM | TrackBack